View source for House of Windsor

{{Short description|British royal family}}
{{Redirect|Windsors|other uses|Windsor (disambiguation){{!}}Windsor}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Royal house
| surname = House of Windsor
| coat_of_arms = Badge of the House of Windsor.svg
| coat_of_arms_size = 145px
| coat_of_arms_caption = [[Heraldic badge]] of the house, featuring the Round Tower of [[Windsor Castle]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]] and other [[Commonwealth realm]]s
| founding year = {{Start date and age|1917|7|17|df=yes}}
| founder = [[George V]]
| current_head = [[Charles III]]
| members = [[List of members of the House of Windsor|See list]]
| cadet branches = {{ubl|[[Mountbatten-Windsor]]|(by [[Cognatic kinship|cognatic descent]])}}
| parent house = [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]{{efn|[[George V]] changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor in 1917. The children and male-line descendants of [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] genealogically belong to the [[House of Glücksburg]], a cadet branch of the [[House of Oldenburg]]. The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is itself a cadet branch of the [[House of Wettin]].}}
}}

The '''House of Windsor''' is the current [[royal house]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and other [[Commonwealth realm]]s. The house's name was inspired by the historic [[Windsor Castle]] estate. The house was founded on 17 July 1917, when King [[George V]] changed the name of the royal house from the German [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] to the English Windsor due to [[anti-German sentiment]] during the [[First World War]]. There have been five British monarchs of the House of Windsor: [[George V]], [[Edward VIII]], [[George VI]], [[Elizabeth II]], and [[Charles III]]. The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], also genealogically belong to the [[House of Oldenburg]]<ref name="Burke's Royal Families of the World">{{cite book|last1=Montgomery-Massingberd |first1=Hugh |title=Burke's Royal Families of the World |date=1977 |isbn=0850110238 |page=326 |publisher=Burke's Peerage }}</ref> since Philip was by birth a member of the [[House of Glücksburg|Glücksburg]] branch of that house.<ref name="Philip-Glücksburg">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/obituaries/prince-philip-dead.html|title=Prince Philip, Husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Is Dead at 99|work=The New York Times|first=Marilyn|last=Berger|date=9 April 2021|accessdate=22 November 2022}}</ref>

The monarch is head of state of fifteen [[sovereign state]]s. These are the United Kingdom, [[Antigua and Barbuda]], [[Australia]], [[The Bahamas]], [[Belize]], [[Canada]], [[Grenada]], [[Jamaica]], [[New Zealand]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]], [[Solomon Islands]], and [[Tuvalu]]. As well as these separate monarchies, there are also three [[Crown Dependencies]], fourteen [[British Overseas Territories]], two [[associated state#States currently in a formal association|associated states]] of New Zealand, and [[Tokelau|one territory]].

==History==
In 1701, succession to the throne was given to [[Sophia of Hanover]], who was born into the [[House of Wittelsbach]], married into the [[House of Hanover]], and was a granddaughter of [[James VI and I]] of the [[House of Stuart]]. Succession was passed to her son who became [[George I of Great Britain|George I]] in 1714, marking the start of a long ruling period by the Hanoverian royal house. Eventually in 1901, a line of the [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] succeeded the House of Hanover to the [[British monarchy]] with the accession of [[King Edward VII]], son of [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]. In 1917, the name of the British royal house was changed from the German ''Saxe-Coburg and Gotha'' to the English ''Windsor'', taking its name from the royal residence in [[Berkshire]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/royal-family-name|title=The Royal Family name &#124; The Royal Family|website=The Royal Family }}</ref>

[[File:A Good Riddance - George V of the United Kingdom cartoon in Punch, 1917.png|thumb|"A Good Riddance"; cartoon from ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'', Vol. 152, 27 June 1917, commenting on the King's order to relinquish all German titles held by members of his family]]

[[King Edward VII]] and, in turn, his son, [[George V]], were members of the [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] branch of the [[House of Wettin]] by virtue of their descent from [[Albert, Prince Consort]], husband of [[Queen Victoria]], the last British monarch from the [[House of Hanover]]. High [[anti-German sentiment]] amongst the people of the [[British Empire]] during the [[First World War]]<ref name=jim2001>{{cite journal|last=McGuigan|first=Jim|title=British identity and 'people's princess'|journal=The Sociological Review|year=2001|volume=48|issue=1|pages=1–18|doi=10.1111/1467-954X.00200|s2cid=144119572}}</ref> reached a peak in March 1917, when the [[Gotha G.IV]], a heavy aircraft capable of crossing the [[English Channel]], began bombing London directly and became a household name. In the same year, on 15 March, King George's first cousin Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia]] was forced to [[Abdication of Nicholas II|abdicate]], which raised the spectre of the eventual abolition of all the monarchies in Europe. The king and his family were finally persuaded to abandon all titles held under the German Crown and to change German titles and house names to anglicised versions. Hence, on 17 July 1917, a [[royal proclamation]] issued by George V declared:

{{blockquote|Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor....<ref>{{cite web|title=By the King. A Proclamation |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30186/page/7119 |work=[[London Gazette]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|issue=30186|page=7119|date=17 July 1917}}</ref>}}

The name had a long association with monarchy in Britain, through the town of [[Windsor, Berkshire]], and [[Windsor Castle]]. It was suggested by [[Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham]].<ref name=IMC>{{cite web |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/surname-windsor-meaning-history-name-royal-family/ |title=How did the royal family choose the name 'Windsor'?|date=28 April 2021 |website=History Extra |publisher=Immediate Media Company |access-date=10 June 2021 }}</ref> Upon hearing that his cousin had changed the name of the British royal house to Windsor and in reference to [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'', [[German Emperor]] [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] remarked jokingly that he planned to see "The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha".<ref>{{Citation | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QcAVV_jIqYC&pg=PP22 | page=xxiii | publisher=Random House| title=George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I|first = Miranda|last=Carter|year=2010|isbn = 978-0307593023}}</ref>

George V also restricted the use of [[British prince]]ly titles to his nearest relations,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm#1917_2|title=Styles of the members of the British royal family: Documents|publisher=Heraldica|date=30 November 1917}}</ref> and in 1919, he stripped three of his German relations of their British titles and styles under the [[Titles Deprivation Act 1917]].<ref>{{cite web|title=At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of March, 1919.|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31255/page/4000 |work=[[London Gazette]]|publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office|issue=31255|page=4000|date=28 March 1919}}</ref>

The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and [[Prince Philip]] also genealogically belong to the [[House of Oldenburg]]<ref name="Burke's Royal Families of the World"/> since Philip was by birth a member of the [[House of Glücksburg|Glücksburg]] branch of that house.<ref name="Philip-Glücksburg"/>

==List of monarchs==
{{See also|List of British monarchs}}
{|style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:8%;"  | Portrait
! style="width:12%;" | Name
! style="width:15%;" | Birth
! style="width:12%;" | Reign
! style="width:10%;" | [[Coronation of the British monarch|Coronation]]
! style="width:13%;" | Consort
! style="width:15%;" | Death
! style="width:15%; | Claim
|-
|[[File:King George V 1911.jpg|100px]]||<big>'''[[George V]]'''</big>||3 June 1865<br>[[Marlborough House]]
|6 May 1910<br>{{ndash}}<br>20 January 1936<br><hr>(25&nbsp;years, 259&nbsp;days) ||[[Coronation of George V and Mary|22 June 1911]]||[[Mary of Teck]]||20 January 1936<br>[[Sandringham House]]<br>(aged 70 years, 231 days)||Son of [[Edward VII]] and [[Alexandra of Denmark]]
|-
|[[File:His Majesty King Edward VIII in Garter Robes (cropped).jpg|100px]]||<big>'''[[Edward VIII]]'''</big>||23 June 1894<br>[[White Lodge, Richmond Park]]
|20 January 1936<br>{{ndash}}<br>11 December 1936<br><hr>(326&nbsp;days) ||[[Abandoned coronation of Edward VIII|''Cancelled'']]||''None'' ||28 May 1972<br>[[4 Route du Champ d'Entraînement]]<br>(aged 77 years, 340 days)||rowspan=2|Sons of [[George V]] and [[Mary of Teck]]
|-
|[[File:King George VI.jpg|100px]]||<big>'''[[George VI]]'''</big>||14 December 1895<br>[[York Cottage]]
|11 December 1936<br>{{ndash}}<br>6 February 1952<br><hr>(15&nbsp;years, 57&nbsp;days) ||[[Coronation of George VI and Elizabeth|12 May 1937]]||[[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]]||6 February 1952<br>[[Sandringham House]]<br>(aged 56 years, 54 days)
|-
|[[File:Queen Elizabeth II in Coronation Robes.jpg|100px]]||<big>'''[[Elizabeth II]]'''</big>||21 April 1926<br>17 [[Bruton Street]], [[Mayfair]]
|6 February 1952<br>{{ndash}}<br>8 September 2022<br><hr>(70&nbsp;years, 214&nbsp;days) ||[[Coronation of Elizabeth II|2 June 1953]]||[[Philip of Greece and Denmark]]||8 September 2022<br>[[Balmoral Castle]]<br>(aged 96 years, 140 days)||Daughter of [[George VI]] and [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]]
|-
|[[File:Charles III parliamentary procession 2024 (cropped).jpg|100px]]||<big>'''[[Charles III]]'''</big>
|14 November 1948<br>[[Buckingham Palace]]
|8 September 2022<br>{{ndash}}<br>present<br><hr>({{ayd|2022|9|8}})
|[[Coronation of Charles III and Camilla|6 May 2023]]
|[[Camilla Shand]]
|''Living''<br>(age {{ayd|1948|11|14}})
|Son of [[Elizabeth II]]<br />and [[Philip of Greece and Denmark]]
|}

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== Members ==
{{See also|List of members of the House of Windsor}}

The 1917 proclamation stated that the name of the Royal House and all British descendants of Victoria and Albert in the male line were to bear the name of Windsor, except for women who married into other families.

===Descendants of Elizabeth II===
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth (who would become Queen [[Elizabeth II]]), heir presumptive to King [[George VI]], married [[Philip Mountbatten]] (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark), a member of the [[House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg]],<ref name="Philip-Glücksburg"/> a branch of the [[House of Oldenburg]]. A few months before his marriage, Philip abandoned his princely titles and adopted the surname ''[[Mountbatten]]'', which was that of his maternal uncle and mentor, [[Lord Mountbatten|Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]], and had itself been adopted by Lord Mountbatten's father (Philip's maternal grandfather), [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]], in 1917. It is the literal translation of the German ''[[Battenberg family|Battenberg]]'', which refers to [[Battenberg, Hesse|Battenberg]], a small town in [[Hesse]].

Soon after Elizabeth became queen in 1952, Lord Mountbatten observed that because it was the standard practice for the wife in a marriage to adopt her husband's surname, the ''House of Mountbatten'' now reigned. When Elizabeth's grandmother [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] heard of this comment, she informed British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] and he later advised the Queen to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor.
This she did on 9 April 1952, officially declaring it her "Will and Pleasure that I and My children shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that My descendants, other than female descendants who marry and their descendants, shall bear the name of Windsor."<ref name=sixty>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423165659/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/prince_highness_docs.htm#1960|url-status=dead|title=Royal Styles and Titles of Great Britain: Documents|archive-date=23 April 2016|website=www.heraldica.org}}</ref> Philip privately complained, "I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children."<ref>[[Gyles Brandreth|Brandreth, Gyles]] (2004). ''Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage''. pp. 253–254. London: Century. {{ISBN|0-7126-6103-4}}</ref>

On 8 February 1960, some years after both the [[Death and funeral of Mary of Teck|death of Queen Mary]] and the resignation of Churchill, the Queen confirmed that she and her children would continue to be known as the "House and Family of Windsor", as would any agnatic descendants (through the male line of succession, or [[patrilineality]]) who enjoy the [[style (manner of address)|style]] of [[Royal Highness]] and the title of prince or princess.<ref name=sixty /> Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her agnatic descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname [[Mountbatten-Windsor]].<ref name=sixty/> There are 26 descendants of Elizabeth II {{as of|lc=yes|2025}}.

This came after some months of correspondence between the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Harold Macmillan]] and the constitutional expert [[Edward Iwi]]. Iwi had raised the prospect that the royal child due to be born in February 1960 would bear "the Badge of Bastardy" if it were given its mother's maiden name (Windsor) rather than its father's name (Mountbatten). Macmillan had attempted to rebuff Iwi, until the Queen advised [[Rab Butler]] in January 1960 that for some time she had her heart set on a change that would recognise the name, Mountbatten. She wished to make this change before the birth of her child.  The issue did not affect Prince Charles or Princess Anne, as they had been born Mountbatten before the Queen's accession to the throne.<ref>Travis, Alan (18 February 1999). [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/18/monarchy "Queen feared 'slur' on family", ''The Guardian''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180358/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/18/monarchy |date=3 March 2016 }}. Retrieved 17 April 2014</ref> [[Prince Andrew]] was born 11 days later, on 19 February 1960.

Any future monarch can change the dynastic name through a similar royal proclamation, as the [[royal prerogative in the United Kingdom]] covers it.<ref>[https://www.royal.uk/royal-family-name The Royal Family name] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530221439/https://www.royal.uk/royal-family-name |date=30 May 2016 }}, Royal Household, retrieved 24 April 2016</ref>

===Family tree===

{{See also|Family tree of the British royal family}}
* {{Color sample|border=#CC0000|white; border-width:3px}} {{Color sample|border=#CC0000|white; border-width:1px}} Red-framed persons are living
* {{Color sample|border=#000000|white; border-width:3px}} {{Color sample|border=#000000|white; border-width:1px}} Black-framed persons are deceased
* {{Color sample|border=#000000|white; border-width:3px}} {{Color sample|border=#CC0000|white; border-width:3px}} Bold borders indicate children of British monarchs

{{Chart top|Family tree of the House of Windsor}}
{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:85%;line-height:100%;margin: 1em auto;
}}

{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |GVRI|y|MT| 
 |GVRI=[[George V|King<br/>George V]]
   |boxstyle_GVRI=border: 3px solid black
 |MT=[[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]
}}

{{Tree chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| 
}}

{{Tree chart|border=1|EVIIIRI| |GVIRI|y|EBY| |MH| |HG|y|AG| |GK|y|MGD| |PJ| 
 |EVIIIRI=[[Edward VIII|King Edward VIII]]{{Efn|After [[Abdication of Edward VIII|his abdication in 1936]], [[Edward VIII|King Edward VIII]] became the [[Duke of Windsor]].}}
   |boxstyle_EVIIIRI=border: 3px solid black
 |GVIRI=[[George VI|King George VI]]
   |boxstyle_GVIRI=border: 3px solid black
 |EBY=[[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]]
 |MH=[[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood]]
   |boxstyle_MH=border: 3px solid black
 |HG=[[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester]]
   |boxstyle_HG=border: 3px solid black
 |AG=[[Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester]]
 |GK=[[Prince George, Duke of Kent]]
   |boxstyle_GK=border: 3px solid black
 |MGD=[[Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark|Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent]]
 |PJ=[[Prince John of the United Kingdom|Prince John]]
   |boxstyle_PJ=border: 3px solid black
}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|^|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| 
}}

{{Tree chart|boxstyle=border: 1px solid red|PE|y|EIIR| |PM| |WG| |BD|~|RG| |EK|~|KW| |CMR| |MK|~|MCR
 |PE=[[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]
   |boxstyle_PE=border: 1px solid black
 |EIIR=[[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]]
   |boxstyle_EIIR=border: 3px solid black
 |PM=[[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon]]
   |boxstyle_PM=border: 3px solid black
 |WG=[[Prince William of Gloucester]]
   |boxstyle_WG=border: 1px solid black
 |BD=[[Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester|The Duchess of Gloucester]]<br/>{{Small|(Birgitte)}}
 |RG=[[Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester|The Duke of Gloucester]]<br/>{{Small|(Richard)}}
 |EK=[[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|The Duke of Kent]]<br/>{{Small|(Edward)}}
 |KW=[[Katharine, Duchess of Kent]]<br/>
   |boxstyle_KW=border: 1px solid black
 |CMR=[[Princess Alexandra (born 1936)|Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy]]
 |MK=[[Prince Michael of Kent]]
 |MCR=[[Princess Michael of Kent]]<br/>{{Small|(Marie-Christine)}}
}}

{{Tree chart| | | |`|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| 
}}

{{Tree chart|boxstyle=border: 1px solid red|CS|~|CW|y|DS| | | | | |AR| | | | | |AY|y|SF| |EW|y|SRJ
 |CS=[[Queen Camilla|The Queen]]<br/>{{Small|(Camilla)}}
 |CW=[[Charles III|The King]]<br/>{{Small|(Charles III)}}
   |boxstyle_CW=border: 3px solid red
 |DS=[[Diana, Princess of Wales]]<br/>{{Small|''(divorced)''}}
   |boxstyle_DS=border: 1px solid black
 |AR=[[Anne, Princess Royal|The Princess Royal]]<br/>{{Small|(Anne)}}
   |boxstyle_AR=border: 3px solid red
 |AY=[[Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor]]
   |boxstyle_AY=border: 3px solid red
 |SF=[[Sarah Ferguson]]<br/>{{Small|''(divorced)''}}
 |EW=[[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|The Duke of Edinburgh]]<br/>{{Small|(Edward)}}
   |boxstyle_EW=border: 3px solid red
 |SRJ=[[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh|The Duchess of Edinburgh]]<br/>{{Small|(Sophie)}}
}}

{{Tree chart| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|^|-|.| 
}}

{{Tree chart|boxstyle=border: 1px solid red|CM|y|WC| |HS|y|MM| | | | | | | | | |BY| |EY| |LLM| |JM 
 |CM=[[Catherine, Princess of Wales|The Princess of Wales]]<br/>{{Small|(Catherine)}}
 |WC=[[William, Prince of Wales|The Prince of Wales]]<br/>{{Small|(William)}}
   |boxstyle_WC=border: 3px solid red
 |HS=[[Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex|The Duke of Sussex]]<br/>{{Small|(Harry)}}
   |boxstyle_HS=border: 3px solid red
 |MM=[[Meghan, Duchess of Sussex|The Duchess of Sussex]]<br/>{{Small|(Meghan)}}
 |BY=[[Princess Beatrice|Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi]]
 |EY=[[Princess Eugenie|Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank]]
 |LLM=[[Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor]]
 |JM=[[James, Earl of Wessex|Earl of Wessex]]<br/>{{Small|(James)}}
}}

{{Tree chart| |,|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| |`|-|v|-|-|-|.| 
}}

{{Tree chart|boxstyle=border: 1px solid red|GC| |CC| |LC| |AM| |LM| 
 |GC=[[Prince George of Wales]]
 |CC=[[Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015)|Princess Charlotte of Wales]]
 |LC=[[Prince Louis of Wales]]
 |AM=[[Prince Archie of Sussex]]
 |LM=[[Princess Lilibet of Sussex]]
}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==States reigned over==
At the creation of the House of Windsor, its head reigned over the [[British Empire]]. Following the end of the First World War, however, shifts took place that saw the emergence of the [[Dominion]]s of the [[British Commonwealth]] as independent states. The shift was recognised in the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth11_doc_1926.pdf|title=Clause II}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balfour-Report|title=Balfour Report &#124; United Kingdom [1926]|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> the [[Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/17-18/4/enacted|title=Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927}}</ref><ref>{{citation|work=Albert Edmond Hogan, Isabell Gladys Powell, Harold Plaskitt, D.M. Glew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vNIAAAAIAAJ|title=The Government of Great Britain and the Dominions and Colonies|year=1939|publisher=University tutorial Press Limited|pages=238}}</ref> and the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf|title=''Statute of Westminster, 1931'', 22 Geo. V, c. 4, s. 4.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Statute-of-Westminster|title=Statute of Westminster &#124; United Kingdom [1931]|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> The Windsors became recognised as the royal family of multiple independent countries, a number that shifted over the decades, as some Dominions became republics and Crown colonies became realms, republics, or monarchies under a different sovereign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Commonwealthmembers/MembersoftheCommonwealth.aspx|title=The Monarchy Today > Queen and Commonwealth > Commonwealth Members|date=29 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229041728/https://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Commonwealthmembers/MembersoftheCommonwealth.aspx|archive-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> Since 1949, three monarchs of the House of Windsor, [[George VI]], [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Charles III]], have also been [[Head of the Commonwealth|Head]] of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], comprising most parts of the former British Empire and some states that were never part of it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth|title=Commonwealth (general)|date=11 March 2016|website=The Royal Family}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|title=London Declaration|date=16 May 2019|website=The Commonwealth|access-date=25 July 2021|archive-date=4 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704130811/https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Queen of the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5y9LDwAAQBAJ|date=2018|first1=Robert|last1=Hardman|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1473549647}}{{page needed|date=July 2021}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country
! Dates
|-
| [[Antigua and Barbuda]]
| 1981–present
|-
| [[Australia]]
| 1917–present
|-
| [[Bahamas]]
| 1973–present
|-
| [[Barbados]]
| 1966–2021
|-
| [[Belize]]
| 1981–present
|-
| [[Canada]]
| 1917–present
|-
| [[Ceylon]]
| 1948–1972
|-
| [[Fiji]]
| 1970–1987
|-
| [[The Gambia]]
| 1965–1970
|-
| [[Ghana]]
| 1957–1960
|-
| [[Grenada]]
| 1974–present
|-
| [[Guyana]]
| 1966–1970
|-
| [[India]]
| 1947–1950
|-
| [[Irish Free State]]
| 1922–1936
|-
| [[Jamaica]]
| 1962–present
|-
| [[Malawi]]
| 1964–1966
|-
| [[Malta]]
| 1964–1974
|-
| [[Mauritius]]
| 1968–1992
|-
| [[New Zealand]]
| 1917–present
|-
| [[Nigeria]]
| 1960–1963
|-
| [[Dominion of Pakistan]]
| 1947–1956
|-
| [[Papua New Guinea]]
| 1975–present
|-
| [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
| 1983–present
|-
| [[Saint Lucia]]
| 1979–present
|-
| [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]]
| 1979–present
|-
| [[Sierra Leone]]
| 1961–1971
|-
| [[Solomon Islands]]
| 1978–present
|-
| [[South Africa]]
| 1917–1961
|-
| [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]]
| 1961–1962
|-
| [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
| 1962–1976
|-
| [[Tuvalu]]
| 1978–present
|-
| [[Uganda]]
| 1962–1963
|-
| [[United Kingdom]]
| 1917–present
|}

==See also==
* [[List of current British princes and princesses]]
* [[British royal family]]
* [[Monarchy of Canada#Royal family and house|Monarchy of Canada § Royal family and house]]
* [[British prince]]
* [[British princess]]
* [[Descendants of George V]]
* [[Succession to the British throne]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [[Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford|Longford, Elizabeth Harman (Countess of Longford)]]. ''The Royal House of Windsor''. Revised ed. Crown, 1984.
* [[Andrew Roberts (historian)|Roberts, Andrew]]. ''The House of Windsor''. University of California Press, 2000.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.royal.uk/royal-family-name Royal Family name] from royal.uk
* [https://www.royal.uk/house-windsor House of Windsor] from royal.uk
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101202213352/http://www.royal.gov.uk/pdf/Windsor%20family%20tree.pdf House of Windsor Tree] from royal.gov.uk (Lord Culloden & Albert+Leopold Windsor are missing)

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|House of Windsor||||name='''[[Royal House]]'''}}
{{S-bef|before=[[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]]
{{small|(Renamed House of Windsor<br />by Royal Proclamation of 17 July 1917)}}}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Dynasty|Ruling House]] of the [[United Kingdom]]|years=1917–present}}
{{S-inc|after=Incumbent}}
{{s-end}}

{{Royal houses of Britain and Ireland}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Monarchy|United Kingdom|Australia|Belize|Canada|Jamaica|New Zealand|Tuvalu}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor, House Of}}
[[Category:House of Windsor| ]]